Memorial service shines light on workplace deaths

The 61 workers killed on the job in Massachusetts since January 2013 are remembered at a service at the State House.

Gerry Tuoti Wicked Local Newsbank Editor

BOSTON – Workers’ advocates and labor officials gathered Monday on the steps of the State House to call for stricter workplace safety standards and to mourn the 48 people who died on the job in 2013.

“While some of these were unavoidable tragedies, others were the result of shameful negligence,” Massachusetts AFL-CIO president Steven Tolman said.

Of the 48 work-related deaths in 2013, falls resulted in nine. Another nine workers were crushed to death in machinery. Work-related car and truck crashes killed five. Workplace violence also killed five. The list includes nine firefighters who died from work-related cancer or heart disease.

“One is too many,” said Rachel Kaprelian, the state’s secretary of Labor and Workforce Development. “We know the majority of the workplace accidents were preventable and were caused by avoidable hazards.”

Kaprelian called for a crackdown on employers who pay workers under the table or misclassify them to avoid the cost of implementing required safety standards.

Several speakers at the Workers Memorial Day ceremony also called for more funding for OSHA, which would allow the federal safety regulator to conduct more inspections and investigations.

They also advocated for stiffer fines for violators. According to the “Dying for Work” report the AFL-CIO and MassCOSH released Sunday, the average fine imposed on a Massachusetts employer with OSHA violations resulting in a workplace death was $6,577 in 2013.

“This day serves as a somber reminder that all of us have to push even harder for stronger health and safety standards at the state and federal level and through our collective bargaining rights,” said Rich Rogers, executive secretary of the Greater Boston Labor Council.

The workers’ advocates spoke in support of several pending pieces of state legislation, including proposals to increase funeral benefits to families of workers who die on the job, raise safety standards for state employees and create new protections for domestic workers.

“We need to pledge to redouble our efforts,” said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, executive director of MassCOSH, the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health.

Massachusetts Bar Association president Douglas Sheff also backed the legislation. His organization is observing 2014 as “the year of the worker,” he said.

Massachusetts Teachers Association vice president Tim Sullivan paused to remember Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer, 24, who was murdered last year, allegedly at the hand of a student.

“The grief brought on by the loss of Colleen Ritzer last October spread far and wide from Danvers High School, where Colleen was fulfilling her dream of being a teacher…” Sullivan said. “As a result, our profession has taken a hard look at improving safety.”

In addition for strengthening security at schools, Sullivan also called for an expanding youth mental health services.